Clash of #1 Players – Valley vs Dowling
Valley vs Dowling can always spark attention because it is such a strong cross town rivalry. Throw in team rankings with Valley at #4 and Dowling at #8 – even better game. Now let’s throw in that Valley has Class…
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Continue ReadingValley vs Dowling can always spark attention because it is such a strong cross town rivalry. Throw in team rankings with Valley at #4 and Dowling at #8 – even better game. Now let’s throw in that Valley has Class of 2019 #1 player in Zoe Young and Dowling has Class of 2020 #1 player in Caitlyn Clark. All those are why I made the two hour trip to watch this game – and it didn’t disappoint. It was a game that Dowling led by 6 – 8 points most of the way. Then in 4th quarter, a switch in defense and Valley chipped back into the game. With 1 minute left the game was finally tied. The last one minute was all Valley to come up with the 2 point win. Here are some of the standouts for both teams.
Zoe Young – West Des Moines Valley
Zoe Young is a 5’10” guard who can do it all on the court. Great ball handling skills that allow her to slither through the defense. Strong frame that can attack and finish in the lane. Soft touch on her jump shot allows her to have long range. Court vision in transition as well as half court set she is able to setup teammates for easy buckets. Quick foot speed allows her to defend on the perimeter, and her strength allows her to defend in the lane. It’s no wonder this Class of 2019 #1 Iowa player caught the eye of many top D1 coaches, finally committing to Brenda Frese and University of Maryland. This game was a big rivalry, and having Young’s future college coach in the stands to watch made the game even more special for Young.
Near the end of the game, Zoe missed 3 of 4 free throws. So when Young was fouled with 16 seconds left it wasn’t an automatic on the free throw line. Zoe was calm going to the line, and made beautiful string music connecting on both to give Valley its first lead of the game. It was the only lead they would need, with Dowling missing their last shot, the game ended with a 2 point win for Valley. “It feels really good cause I stepped up and I forgot about the previous free throws I shot. Up until now these next two free throws were the only two that mattered so I took a deep breath and tried to knock them down because it a big game and a rivalry game.”
Zoe ended the game with 27 points shooting 58% from field and 50% from the 3 point line. She also grabbed 4 boards, 4 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks on the night. A very well rounded night, but what impressed me the most is the level of maturity Young has gained in a year. I had talked to Young in the pre-season about what she wanted to improve in her game, and all those things showed up in this game. She wanted to work on being a more productive scorer, connecting with higher field goal percentage – accomplished. She wanted to be able to have better court vision in transition – accomplished. Finally she wanted to improve her maturity and be the leader her team could count on – accomplished.
Young was in foul trouble matching up on Dowling’s elite guard Caitlyn Clark for half of the night. Clark took advantage of the foul trouble and attacked Young on defense throughout the 3rd quarter. “She was playing really smart basketball there. She knows certain people have certain matchups and she was going at us because of our fouls. We just needed a lot of help, when you can’t touch a player or initiate any contact, its hard because you don’t want to pick up that 5th foul. I think the adjustment our coach made where we were just trapping was huge.” It was this trapping defense the took the ball out of Clark’s hands allowed Valley to get back into the game.
Big difference from this year’s Valley team compared to last year’s is Young’s supporting cast. Zoe played more at ease this Friday night, and it was because her teammates were stepping up when the ball wasn’t in her hands. This turn around for Valley from a year ago is why they are currently ranked in top 5 and are still undefeated. “Being able to rely on our veterans we have, we have a lot of juniors and seniors who have been playing at this level for a long time. I thought our freshman Meredith Rieker was phenomenal tonight, she stepped up big time defensively and offensively. I am very thankful for my supporting cast because it makes things easier on me. I don’t have to do everything because I know I can rely on my teammates and I put trust in them to execute.”
Shea Fuller – West Des Moines Valley
Shea Fuller is currently ranked #8 for the Class of 2019, making Valley one of the top back courts in the state this year. She has always been a great 3 point shooter, and showed it hitting 4 of 6 against Dowling. This year she is also attacking the rim more, giving herself and teammates more options in the half court. She ended game with 14 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists. What Fuller brings to the game doesn’t always show up in the box score. There isn’t a stat for tipped balls, their isn’t a stat for hustle plays, they don’t have a stat for mental toughness,and there isn’t a leadership stat either. These are all things that she unselfishly got done in this rivalry game.
She had no steals on the night, yet caused many deflections that allowed her teammates to pick up the loose ball. When the ball was on the floor, Fuller was diving for the ball. She put herself in a position to have more than 2 assists, unfortunately her teammates didn’t connect on many of her passes on the inside. Shea stayed calm throughout the game, and was often upbeat with her teammates even when things didn’t go Valley’s way. Fuller is the type of player that makes me want to adjust the box score. Adding stats like tipped balls, assists that didn’t finish, as well as assists that led to a free throw would show how valuable players like Fuller are to their teams.
With around 3 minutes left in the game, Fuller dove for a ball and came up with a cramped calf. Knowing it was important to her team to have her on the floor, she walked it off. “It hurt a lot but I knew I had to be out on the floor, and I wanted to do it for my team not myself. So I knew I had to fight through it and run it off on the court.” This mental toughness help Valley get the win because it allowed Valley to have their top two players on the floor to secure the comeback.
Fuller was given tough task of being matched up on Clark for half of the night. When Valley moved to the trapping defense, Fuller was often on the top of key trapping Clark. “Halfway through the 3rd quarter when Caitlyn was at 29 points I remember coach saying we were going to move to the trap. We knew if we could take the ball out of Caitlyn’s hands we would be able to take care of the rest.” Playing with 4 fouls at this point, Fuller was still vulnerable to fouling out being on many of those traps. “I knew I had to keep my hands off and try to keep my hands in her face to try and take away her vision a little bit. Having 4 fouls was in the back of my mind, but I forgot about it a little bit at the end because I just played the game.”
Shea was a go to player last season along with teammate Zoe Young, but this year these two guards have more help. “This year we have a lot of returners so we have a deep bench. When one person isn’t showing up we have another person able to step up and show up. I think that’s going to help us a lot by having a deep bench.” This deep bench along with the leadership from Fuller and Young will help the Tigers go deep in post season play.
Caitlin Clark – West Des Moines Dowling
If you follow girls basketball in Iowa, you know players like Caitlin Clark. She has been a force since playing high school ball as a freshman. Summer of 2017 she spent time playing on the USA team. She is ranked by ESPN as #4 in the Class of 2020 in the nation. She proved why she deserves this ranking during this rivalry game. Although her team came up short, she dominated the game all night and was a one man wrecking crew for the Maroons.
Clark can do it all, and did it all on Friday night in the Valley gym. She scored 33 points shooting 44% from the field. She added 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals to her stat line. The most impressive thing about those 33 points is the variety ways in which she scored. She hit 4 three pointers, many from deep range. She attacked defenders and finished at the rim. Caitlin went to the line 7 times, and connected on all free throws. Clark also adds a great jumper off the dribble. Shooting off the dribble is becoming more rare in the game. With so many either specializing in the 3 pointer or attacking the rim, the short jumper is a lost art in the high school game. Clark utilizes this with perfection. She can get past a defender, but being high caliber player the help defense is often there. By stopping before she gets to second line of defense, she was able to connect on the short jumper.
Caitlin is an elite guard, but is also a very unselfish player. With the attention that she attracts, her teammates are often open. Although Clark is pressured, often double teamed, she was still able to hit her teammates for easy baskets. A smart player with high basketball IQ, she used this to her advantage all night long. In 3rd quarter she often had a player with 4 fouls guarding her, and she didn’t play passive. She attacked her defender knowing she could a top player out of the game. Although her opponents didn’t foul out, it led to many of her shots being easier than normal because the defense were on their heels trying not to foul. She has faith in her teammates, and at end when Valley tried taking ball out of Clark’s hands. She didn’t force bad shots, and hit open teammates.
This is a young squad, with only one senior playing in the rotation. It is early in the season, and as Clark’s teammates gain experience and confidence, the Maroons are going to roll. It is easy to defer to a great player like Caitlin, but she will need her teammates for a successful season. The components are there for a great supporting cast, and it is obvious Clark trusts her teammates to step up.